Daring to Hope
by PrankstersUnited
Summary: Captain Swan drabble. Emma and Killian's first meeting in foster care. Emma's thoughts and reactions towards meeting Killian for the first time.


A/N: So my muse decided that it wanted to write a drabble even though I was supposed to be studying for a test. This is my first published CS fic, so I hope you guys enjoy it! Thoughts, comments, or anything else is strongly appreciated!

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Emma sighed. Another day, another home. This was what her life was like for as long as she could remember.

Being an orphan was horrible. She had so many questions, one of the most important being who were her parents? But she knew that she would likely never find out. Especially since she was found on the side of the highway. But at the same time, this made her wonder if life would ever be somewhat normal.

Today was the first day at this new foster home. Silently she hoped that maybe this one would work out for her. But even if it didn't, she was 16 and only had two more years left of living in these homes. Plus, Emma was starting to give up on hope. Every time she tried to stay positive about something-or even just wish that something would work out in her favor-it always blew up in her face.

This specific home had a few other foster kids. Since she arrived so late the night before, she had only caught a glimpse of the others. Surprisingly they were all around her age.

But there was one, this boy who made eye contact with her as she was shown to her room. He was tall and looked to be either 16 or 17. He had short black hair, with piercing blue eyes. How long he had been at this home, she wasn't sure. But what struck Emma the most was that he looked lost.

The only reason she could tell this was because she had become good at reading people. She had been around so many different people that she had begun to notice the different tells people would have.

This boy though, he looked so sure of himself through his smile and his facial expression. But it was his eyes. They looked lonely. Confused. Hurt.

She glanced at the clock. 8 o'clock. Based on the other homes she had been in, most people were normally up at this time. Instead of going downstairs to the kitchen to find food, as would have been expected of her, she went to find this boy's room.

She crept by the doors until she was standing outside the door she saw him standing near the night before. Glancing at the door, it had a printed sign on it that just said, "Killian." It was nothing elaborate and it was very similar to the one she had on her door. Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand and knocked on the door. As much as she didn't trust to hope anymore, she wanted to believe this was the right door and that this boy was someone she could talk to.

The door opened a crack, and thankfully it was him. He raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"

Oh. Right. She hadn't thought beyond finding his room. Why did she want to see him anyways? She blinked. She couldn't think of anything else to say, so she replied, "Hi."

"Is there something you wanted?" The boy asked, he was also very unsure of why she would knock on his door. It was a commonly accepted fact that kids in foster homes try not to make bonds with other foster kids. If they did, there was a really good chance they would end up being separated.

_I really didn't think this_ _through.._. Emma thought to herself before coming up with an answer. "I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Emma," she said with a small smile.

"Killian. Do you want to come in?"

"Sure… if it's not a bother."

"I wouldn't have asked if it was a bother," he retorted causing Emma to laugh. She walked in and almost tripped on a picture of a ship he was drawing. "I'm sorry it's a mess. I wasn't expecting company."

"No worries. This is beautiful," she said, pointing to the drawing.

He shrugged. "It's just something I do in my spare time. We get enough of it here."

"How is it living here? Are they nice?"

"They're nice enough. But they do have a kid of their own, so we tend to get pushed to the side a lot. Though sometimes I do think they just want the extra money that we get them… But who am I kidding, doesn't everyone these days?"

Emma nodded in agreement. "So how long have you been here?"

"About a week. Though I'm wondering how long this will last for… Based on my past, I'm not too hopeful that I'll be here much longer," Killian sighed, understanding the problem with living in foster care.

"I know. I think I've been in about 3 different homes within the past 2 months. I'm sick of this moving around constantly. I guess one of the only good things is when you get to stay in the school system you're in… But even that doesn't happen too often."

"I think I've only ever had that happen once. If you're interested though, after breakfast I can show you around the area. There's this little spot I found that no one knows about."

Emma smiled. It was one of the first genuine smiles she's given in a long time. "I'd like that a lot."

Killian offered Emma his hand to get up and head down to breakfast. "We orphans have gotta stick together, don't we lass?"

She nodded in agreement. With that, Emma knew this friendship was going to last. Even if they ended up separated. In her heart, she felt something genuine from Killian, and because of that she knew they would always end up together even if the world appeared against them. Maybe, just maybe, around Killian, Emma would begin to hope again.


End file.
